


The Hunt Is On

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: For Family [12]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anger Management, Complicated Relationships, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-23 23:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7484514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Tatooine, a man takes steps to protect his charge. In orbit, an argument is had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hunt Is On

There had been such strife and turmoil in the Force seven, eight months ago. Obi-Wan had had the worst headache of his life since the Purge. And the Force had not been quiet since then, throwing unreadable portents at him.

He'd tried, three times, to convince Owen to give him the boy back, so he could prepare the boy for his future. Something was drastically different, and it was not fair to the boy to leave him at risk. Owen had responded to each with anger, and the last with fury that had come to the man actually drawing a weapon on him. 

In the end, he met up with Luke at one of the vaporators, well away from where Owen was working.

"Hello, Luke," Obi-Wan said, dressed carefully against the blinding suns and heat.

Luke had seen something off to one side a while ago, but hadn't really thought much of it -- and now he jumped half a meter, yelping as he smacked his hand into a support, and whipped around to stare at the source of the voice. The same voice he'd heard fighting with his Uncle, late at night when he should have been asleep. 

An old man, as old as his voice had sounded, but strong looking despite that, hard faced, with sharp eyes and strong hands half-under the cuffs of his robe. "You're... Ben? Obi-Wan?" 

"Yes, that is me," the man said, giving a disarming smile. "I knew your father, in the Clone Wars." Could he open the curiosity that had been an Anakin highlight, and lure the boy away that way? He did not want to make this an ugly matter with the Lars family. Luke was… close to eighteen now, adult, and able to choose for himself.

"To hear my uncle tell it," Luke replied, watching that quick smile and unable not to smile back for a moment, before caution reasserted itself, "you got my father killed. 

"Which is really strange, because my father was a navigator, nothing more, from all I've ever been told." 

"A navigator?" Old Ben seemed to be offended by the very idea. "No, Luke, your father was one of the best starfighters in the galaxy, and a Jedi Knight besides!" he said. "Now I understand why Owen has balked me on my visits recently. You still do not know your heritage!"

Luke stared at him in complete shock. 

His father, one of the legendary, half-mythical Jedi Knights that only things older than he was portrayed in any positive light? "That's -- that's ridiculous. Why would Uncle Owen lie to me?" 

"To keep you alive, no doubt," Ben admitted. "There was a bounty on Jedi when I came to Tatooine, and the Force is strong with you, Luke." He shifted his robe enough to reveal not one, but two lightsaber hilts there. "One of these was your father's and should be yours now. But if the farm is all you seek… I suppose I will have to understand and move on."

Those... those looked like they were real lightsabers -- as though he knew anything about what a real lightsaber looked like, all he had was ancient holodramas -- and the thought that one of them had been his father's... Excitement lit his blood, his eyes going back up to Old Ben's sharp ones, as that last comment slid deep under his skin. 

"It's not," he answered, honest, "I've been trying to get Uncle Owen to let me go to the Academy this season, but he keeps saying he needs me too much. I -- I know he does, but this place is just... it's so _boring_! Nothing ever happens here, and there's so _much_ out there!" 

The fact the boy craved excitement and adventure threw a cold chill over Ben, but… he had to protect the boy. He'd made a promise in his heart to do so.

"Your uncle and aunt will find a way to make it without you, Luke, I have no doubt. They handled just fine before you were of an age and size to help, no?" The older man gestured to the distant horizon. "Come with me, learn of your father, learn of the Force… and it will be in your best interests, so you can help them exist better, at some point." That wasn't over-selling it. A lightsaber went a long way to getting a fairer price out of the water buyers. He hated he had thought it, but Luke needed to be trained now!

"They were younger then," Luke replied, protesting, torn between the chances he'd always wanted and loyalty to his family, "and it hasn't gotten any easier. You've got to know that. 

"I -- wait, the Force? That magic in the old dramas?" 

Magic. This was going to be very difficult, and the Jedi Master wondered how best to approach it. 

"You've got a part stuck, don't you?" he asked, seeing the access hatch open, something only done for maintenance due to the sand. "Show me which one?"

"Boy, do I," Luke agreed, and shifted to get out of the way, letting Ben get closer, and pointing out the piece of fan blade that had gotten away from him when he tried to get the assembly out. "There, you see it?"

"Yes." Ben reached out, using just the Force, and extricated the part for Luke, gentle in the manipulation so nothing was broken. "If that is what you call magic, Luke, then yes. The Force is an energy that flows through all life, connecting everything. You have the ability to manipulate it, as your father did, and I have been trying to convince your uncle to let you learn since you were twelve.

"More vocally lately, I admit, but I am not a young man any longer."

"That's... pretty magical," Luke replied, staring at the floating blade until it settled in the palm of his hand. "You -- 

"You did that. And you... think I could?" 

His heart was pounding, the words -- the idea -- settling into the back of his mind, exhilaration running through his veins. As long as he could remember, he'd wanted more out of life than the desert sand and sun and mechanical labor... but he knew Uncle Owen did need him, that Aunt Beru was afraid of him leaving. 

He couldn't just abandon them... no matter how much he wanted more than this. "Why can't you teach me here?" 

Ben closed his eyes. "One, your uncle despises me and would continually interfere. Two, the Force has been disturbed of late, and I fear that you may be in danger because of it." There, he'd admitted to the fear, and he opened his eyes to look at Luke. "Danger that could touch their lives, if you remain to be found by it."

Well, that was as blunt as he could have possibly hoped for... and the thought of a threat to his aunt and uncle had his off hand tightening, his jaw coming up and his eyes narrowing as his shoulders went back. "I can't bring trouble down on them..."

//Anakin.// The parallel in features was too strong to ignore, and it twisted a blade deep in his chest. //Force save us. Hopefully Yoda has gone to the girl, and there is still hope, if this boy is his father's son.// "Allow me to train you, and perhaps the danger can be dealt with so you may return to them safely," Ben offered as a compromise. 

With any luck, the Jedi philosophy would actually stick, as it offered adventure in the form of seeking those who needed help.

Luke considered that, weighing his knowledge of the concrete pain he would put them through if he left, the trouble the lack of his help would cause against the thought of somehow bringing bounty hunters (who he had seen in Anchorhead, once or twice, though they didn't often come so far from Mos Eisley) down on the farm. They killed as easily as the Tuskens did.... 

He closed his eyes, leaning against the hot metal of the vaporator, trying to figure out what to do. "Do you _really_ think they'll be in danger if I stay? If I don't learn from you?" 

"Yes, I do," Ben answered that. "And, much as your uncle has frustrated me, I am grateful to him, and moreso to your aunt. I prefer to keep all three of you safe." He admired the boy's sense of duty, but there were larger issues at risk, he felt.

Being able to use the Force was a responsibility in his mind, one that necessitated training and being a protector.

Luke opened his eyes again, studying the old man for long moments. "All right. 

"I can climb up once Uncle Owen shuts the power down for the night. I know it's more dangerous with the sandpeople at night, but... I don't want to fight with them. Uncle Owen and I fight enough anyway. I'll leave them a message about why I have to go, and we'll be long gone before they get it.

"Does that work?" 

"Yes, Luke, it does. I'll be waiting for you," the Jedi promised him.

++++

"All I'm saying, _ori'vod_ is that it might not be a bad idea to let me and Rex scout for you," Ahsoka argued, but she was pretty certain she was going to lose the fight… because Leia had crossed her arms and had a look on her face that matched Skyguy on a bad day, or Padmé with a fight ahead of her in the Senate.

"Commander's right; we're going blind into unknown territory," Rex said, backing up his wife, even as Artoo chirped once in a warning tone.

"Yes, Artoo, I know," he -- and he _really_ needed to get around to figuring out a name that wasn't wrong -- agreed, walking over to lay his right hand down against Artoo's dome, "which is all the more reason to just drop to the farm and be done, rather than dodge around. 

"We'll run a sensor sweep on the vicinity as soon as the _Exactor_ is in orbit." 

He didn't want to set foot on that planet, knew Ahsoka knew it... but Kenobi had taken advantage of his hate and his pain to hide his son for all these years, he was _not_ going to let the Jedi win for another minute. "Do tell me what you think that will miss." 

Artoo beeped again, conveying his worry that their luck would go bad, because of the planet. That made Ahsoka sigh.

" _Ori'vod_ , if you want to go, we cannot stop you. But… will you take our worry for you and wrap it around you to shield you if we do run into _him_ while we are there? Because if this is your son down there, I do not want you terrifying the boy with your temper."

She said it plainly, and it made Leia consider that angle, which she hadn't. She'd met Vader in fear; did she want that for her brother?

That actually made him pause, frowning behind the mask, the tips of his fingers still on Artoo's dome as he considered. He wanted nothing more than to run into Kenobi, wanted it so badly he could taste it -- not a bad trick, given the state of his tongue and throat -- but... frightening his son, possibly turning his son against him, would not be worth it. 

"You have a point, _ner'vod_ ," he agreed, the words dragged unwillingly out of him. "I do not want Padmé's son frightened. For that, I will let you two investigate." 

Leia made a protesting noise, turning to look at him, "I cou -- " 

Three voices and an electronic warble said "NO!" simultaneously. 

Leia's jaw firmed even more, her eyes snapping. "I can take care of myself!" she snapped at them all. "Despite all belief to the contrary! I'm a better shot than Winter and I think faster on my feet, Sabé said!"

Ahsoka was the one to actually bring her palm up to her face, shaking her head, even as she tried to come up with an argument to break that stubborn Skyguy thing Leia had going on.

"...Sabé," Vader said, very softly, as he remembered Ahsoka's 'your daughter's handmaiden' of so many months ago and suddenly put it in a very different light. "Of _course_ it would have been Sabé; why did I have any doubt?"

Leia glanced at him, slightly nervous that she had let that slip, but not terribly. The journey here had let her find a slightly more level place in her understanding of this man who had given her life. 

"Senator," Rex began, focusing on the young woman. "I appreciate your willingness to go, but similar reasons apply to you. If he's heard any news out here at all, Alderaan's been at the front of it, with the reforms. All well and good… but he's lived a simple life, and you're royalty. And a politician. As overwhelming as introducing a shiny to my Commander."

"They all got over it," Ahsoka said, unhelpfully, before she looked at her friend's daughter. "I'm not even against you being the first to meet him. But I want to make certain he is on the farm and not, oh, working for the Hutts by this point. Because that's the kind of luck we tend to run into on this world. And you can bet the Hutts will recognize you for their own profits."

Vader growled, low, at that thought, his eyes narrowing behind the mask, his jaw tightening, even as he flashed indignant insult at her for the thought that his son would be anywhere near Jabba or whatever other Hutt had tried to take over this particular deathtrap of a world. Leia had seen him with Owen and Beru, they lived half a world from Jabba's palace, and further from Mos Espa.... 

"Ahsoka is right, Leia. I got lucky once on that front. Let's not try it again. Also... you're Padmé's daughter, of course you're the better shot and quicker witted. I have no doubt of your ability. 

"I just don't want to risk losing you." Three months ago, he could not have forced those words out of his mouth, no matter how true they were. No one looked at Vader for saying those words either, but there was a quiet pride.

Ahsoka ignored the pointed thoughts her way concerning the Hutt; she wasn't ruling _anything_ out when it came to this deathtrap planet.

Leia's shoulders slumped slightly, but she was curious now, and just nodded. "Fine, I stay with you… but you're telling me about my birth-mother and blasters!"

"Make him tell you about the time she saved his neck with one!" Ahsoka rang out helpfully, before grabbing her husband's hand and taking him to the ship they would use.

"Which time?!" Vader projected after her, got laughter in return, and decided that that meant he was going to have to pick on his own. 

++++

Rex swept the homestead one more time with the binocs, then looked at Ahsoka. "One human male up by the far vaporators, one human woman moving around the home, no other heat signatures or life signs, and we've been here more than long enough that the kid should have been out and about," he said with a sigh.

"Maybe he's on errands?" Ahsoka said, but her lekku told him she didn't believe that for a minute. "Right, so glad we convinced them to stay on the ship." She considered her options, then chose to reach into the Force, trying to see if this boy showed up to her senses. If it really was _Ori'vod_ 's son, he should be pretty bright in the Force.

He didn't believe the 'errands', either, but he nodded quick, sharp agreement with that last comment. "If we hadn't, this would be getting... difficult, about now, _'lek_ ," he said, then noticed her eyes half-closed and went quiet, waiting to see what her sense of the Force could tell them. 

This mudball was a cacophony of misery on her senses, but she persevered. Toward… the deep desert? Was that a Force presence? Maybe.

"Toward the wastes, Rex. We'll go high atmo, scan from there. Doubt we're looking for for more than two or three bodies, so we can avoid the nomads probably." She pushed up from the ridge they were on to go back to their ship, brushing the sand off her poncho. 

"The... well, kriff," Rex muttered, shaking his head slightly as he picked up to make his way back to the shuttle. They'd set down well behind a bluff, so that the family wouldn't be disturbed by the sudden drop of an Imperial ship right on top of them. It meant a longer jog, but that was no big deal to either of them. "So are we reporting in now, or just going to find him?" 

She gave him a look that asked if the suns had spoiled every brain in his head. "We are going to find him," she said firmly. "I am not letting anything wreck all the progress _he's_ made in finding his peace."

She could only imagine what the man would do if he were thwarted in recovering Padmé's son. It would not bode well for the New Republic, or any of them.

"He _is_ going to notice when we put the ship back in the air," Rex pointed out, dry-voiced as the desert around them, "and he hates wondering. But you're right, wife. 

"Stars bless, just let the kid be okay, wherever he's run off to." 

"He's telling Padmé-stories. With any luck, Artooey is showing Padmé to them. Leia will be asking questions," Ahsoka pointed out. "We can handle this." She moved as sure-footed as an eopi over the sands, skidding and sliding on purpose to get to the ship faster when the rise favored her. "Yes, I will take advantage of his happier memories to keep him safe." //And us.//

Rex snorted in amusement at the 'with any luck' aside, and nodded as he loped beside his wife. "Of course, beloved. I don't think there's much you _wouldn't_ use to keep him safe, now that he's come back to us." 

"Like you'll be any better, love," she teased him, keeping her hearing turned outward as they moved away from the vague energy hum of the homestead's vaporators and power generators.

It didn't take long to get back or into flight, Ahsoka piloting on feel alone. Anakin had taught her that, to trust the Force, and just pilot. With so much riding on this search, she didn't care to fail him by ignoring his long ago advice. Rex operated the scanners, tuning out the encampments and scavenging parties, looking for smaller groupings even as she seemed to know where she was going.

They were deep into the wastes when Rex caught a pair of life-signs on the scanners, off to their right and forward, almost out of range and down in a canyon. He opened his mouth to tell her -- and even as he did, she swung the ship that direction, putting the pair dead ahead in the scanners before she opened the throttle some more. "I'm not the only one that just picked up that pair, then..." 

She grinned at him. "Glad to know I'm not losing my focus," she told him, piloting neatly that way. "Rex… if Kenobi is with the boy, don't immediately think things are good," she warned. "I don't know all the facts, but I am itching to take Obi-Wan down several notches based on what I do know."

She had to concentrate then, as she felt the fullness of a wary caution strike out in the Force, and knew that her instincts, Vader's worries, were correct. Kenobi was here.


End file.
